CDS Discussion

I propose to change the Gov't question hours from weekly to monthly. The proposed updated text of the law as follows:

NL 7-1 Government Question Hour Act


Rationale:
In order to make the government more accessible this Act establishes an informal Government Question Hour with at least one government ‘official’ present each month. These meetings will be open to all CDS residents to come and ask questions. The hours will rotate to suit the RL hours of our community.
1 The Chancellor is charged with establishing a monthly Government Question Hour. All members of the government (Executive, Legislative and Philosophical branches) will be invited to attend with at least one official attending each month.
2 The Chancellor is charged with facilitating representation from all three branches.
3 The Chancellor will rotate the hours of the Government Question Hour to take into account the different time zones of the CDS community and to ensure representation from the different branches of government.
4 Meetings will be chaired by (one of) the official(s) present and will be open to all citizens to attend.

I've one idea. Rather than setting the frequency at monthly, I suggest we say "once or twice a month" which will allow some flexibility depending on demand and need,

I think this is a really good idea. Since holding these government question hours this term, the only people who have shown up to the ones I have hosted have been other government members. It seems to be mostly a waste of time, although I think it's a nice idea to have it once a month. I don't see any purpose in saying 'once or twice a month' for a law - who would decide this and based on what?

I tend to agree; the meetings are informal anyways (as defined in Tan's proposal), so there's really nothing to stop anyone from holding a second one if they wanted to.

I'm under the impression that everyone who serves needs to have a government hour at least one in their term -Rosie has had one today, and I have (tenatively) scheduled one for later this month.

The fact Rosie has hers doesn't stop me from having mine when I see an opening in my schedule (at least as far as I know?)

1 The Chancellor is charged with establishing a monthly Government Question Hour. ...I'm not sure "establish" is the right word; the question hour is already established. Maybe "manage" or "facilitate" would be a better choice?

Thanks for the feedback! What about this:

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NL 7-1 Government Question Hour Act



Rationale:
In order to make the government more accessible this Act establishes an informal Government Question Hour with at least one government ‘official’ present once per month. The Chancellor may schedule additional Government Question Hours based on public demand. These meetings will be open to all CDS residents to come and ask questions. The hours will rotate to suit the RL hours of our community.
1 The Chancellor is charged with managing a Government Question Hour at least once per month. All members of the government (Executive, Legislative and Philosophical branches) will be invited to attend with at least one official attending.
2 The Chancellor is charged with facilitating representation from all three branches.
3 The Chancellor will rotate the hours of the Government Question Hour to take into account the different time zones of the CDS community and to ensure representation from the different branches of government.
4 Meetings will be chaired by (one of) the official(s) present and will be open to all citizens to attend.

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oh, btw, we do not want it transcripted and posted to the forums since it is informal. Do we?

Tanoujin Milestone wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2016 1:53 am

1 The Chancellor is charged with managing a Government Question Hour at least once per month. All members of the government (Executive, Legislative and Philosophical branches) will be invited to attend with at least one official attending.

How about:
"The Chancellor is charged with organizing a Government Question Hour at least once per month." (Just because 'managing' could be interpreted as the Chancellor needing to be a facilitator, or setting some other specifics about the Gov't Question Hour. I think the intention is just to ensure that someone - the Chancellor - does the scheduling.)

Tanoujin Milestone wrote: ↑Sat Aug 06, 2016 1:53 am

oh, btw, we do not want it transcripted and posted to the forums since it is informal. Do we?

I agree that there's no need to post transcriptions. Leaving these meetings informal means that whoever is hosting can make them as formal or as informal as they like, which could be a more fun!

From my perspective, these Gov't Question Hours are an integral part of our virtual democracy. The idea is to raise awareness, promote transparency and increase participation. Increased participation may take some time to accomplish. The level of formality is not an issue, but transcripts — which are easy enough to capture and post — are important.

Transcripts may also inhibit people from speaking for fear that their words may be used against them, too. When I held my meet-and-greets I usually posted transcripts, and likely would again. But I think they should be optional, and not required.

So far the meetings I've held have not resulted in questions and we have ended up just chatting about this and that. It was nice as a visit, but if it was transcripted I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have spoken so freely. I'll add that it doesn't matter to me, it's just an observation.

There should be latitude to handle it on a case-by-case basis.

It would make sense to have any actual questions and answers transcribed for the forums.

Rosie Gray wrote: ↑Sun Aug 07, 2016 9:33 am

It would make sense to have any actual questions and answers transcribed for the forums.

Yes, I agree. It is just common sense to post information that could be of public interest to the forums. But I see no need to write that into the law. I repost the last version for reference.

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NL 7-1 Government Question Hour Act



Rationale:
In order to make the government more accessible this Act establishes an informal Government Question Hour with at least one government ‘official’ present once per month. The Chancellor may schedule additional Government Question Hours based on public demand. These meetings will be open to all CDS residents to come and ask questions. The hours will rotate to suit the RL hours of our community.
1 The Chancellor is charged with organizing a Government Question Hour at least once per month. All members of the government (Executive, Legislative and Philosophical branches) will be invited to attend with at least one official attending.
2 The Chancellor is charged with facilitating representation from all three branches.
3 The Chancellor will rotate the hours of the Government Question Hour to take into account the different time zones of the CDS community and to ensure representation from the different branches of government.
4 Meetings will be chaired by (one of) the official(s) present and will be open to all citizens to attend.

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FWIW, when I was Chancellor, I had created a notecard that asked people if they wanted their attendance recorded and (separately) if they wanted their words included in the transcription. If people didn't want their names included, I said I would refer to them as "Person A" and if they didn't want their words recorded, I would line them out. Everyone always agreed to have their names and comments included in the transcripts, but it was their choice and I believe it made for freer conversations.

Tan: If we want a practice to persist, we really ought to include it in the law.

FWIW, when I was Chancellor, I had created a notecard that asked people if they wanted their attendance recorded and (separately) if they wanted their words included in the transcription. If people didn't want their names included, I said I would refer to them as "Person A" and if they didn't want their words recorded, I would line them out. Everyone always agreed to have their names and comments included in the transcripts, but it was their choice and I believe it made for freer conversations.

Good idea, Bagheera.

Widget: would you please suggest a clause that could be included, I have trouble to find a good formulation.